If people really gave a shit, they'd stop attending and watching games. When the NFL has a financial incentive to cave, they will cave. But as long as they are filling stadiums and winning the overnights, they could give a shit about bad officiating. How many people would never cross a picket line to, say, shop at a grocery store whose employees are striking, but won't change their behavior at all when it comes to consuming the NFL? The longer this goes on, the better the replacements will get while the real officials are becoming more and more rusty. By week eight or ten it will be a wash, then there will be no incentive at all.

"After the Hall of Fame game in August, Mike Pereira let it slip that Craig Ochoa, the referee who worked that game, had been fired from the Lingerie Football League. The Lingerie Football Leagueówhich recently uprooted itself from its US host cities to barnstorm in Canada, the United States, and Australia over the next yearódidn't respond to our request for comment on Pereira's charge then.

But now they have, and, boy, oh boy, this is great:

"Because of the LFL's perception it is that much more critical for us to hire officiating crews that are competent, not only for the credibility of our game but to keep our athletes safer. Due to several on-field incompetent officiating we chose to part ways with with a couple crews which apparently are now officiating in the NFL. We have a lot of respect for our officials but we felt the officiating was not in line with our expectations.

We have not made public comment to date because we felt it was not our place to do so. However in light of tonight's event, we felt it was only fair that NFL fans knew the truth as to who are officiating these games."

If there was ever a reason for a public statement from a third-tier football league at 12:28 a.m. on a Tuesday, tonight's debacle was it. And, yup, Roger Goodell, you just got served. By the commissioner of the Lingerie Football League. Eat it."

That's amazing. Why was he even throwing his hat there in the first place? Could've broken the man's ankle.

And I agree with you Sarcastro. These refs are in the new kids in class with gum thrown in the hair and wedgie scars. The players know it, the coaches know it, and the fans know it. Fuck, even the refs have to know. They're training should have been watching Ed Hochuli and Mike Carey footage for a week straight. Speaking of Hochuli, he's apparently a lawyer as well. What a legend.

Tue Sep 25, 2012 2:51 pm

T-Wrexp00ny tang

Joined: 30 Jun 2002
Posts: 6416
Location: Detroit, Michigan

Warren Sapp called Marshal Faulk a retard.... then got ethered.

Quote: ďI got a very disturbing heads up on something Warren Sapp said. He called me Ďretarded.í Thatís really disappointing to hear that from an NFL legend, but Iím going to take this as a lesson. And I think we all can learn from this. Be very careful who you take advice from. You want to surround yourself with good people, Godly people. When I look at Warren Sapp, I canít go to him and talk about finances because he filed for bankruptcy. I canít go to him and talk about my marriage because he filed for divorce. I canít go to him and talk about being a great father, because one day Iím going to have children, because heís not active in his childrenís life."

Quote: ďI got a very disturbing heads up on something Warren Sapp said. He called me Ďretarded.í Thatís really disappointing to hear that from an NFL legend, but Iím going to take this as a lesson. And I think we all can learn from this. Be very careful who you take advice from. You want to surround yourself with good people, Godly people. When I look at Warren Sapp, I canít go to him and talk about finances because he filed for bankruptcy. I canít go to him and talk about my marriage because he filed for divorce. I canít go to him and talk about being a great father, because one day Iím going to have children, because heís not active in his childrenís life."

It was a hard hit, but it was fairly incidental. That said, motherfuckers need to lead with their arms. If that was the rule, you'd have far less helmet to helmet contact. I don't know why you'd even want to go in helmet first.

And more like Marshallacked, amirite?

Fri Sep 28, 2012 1:07 pm

Captiv8

Joined: 25 Aug 2006
Posts: 8546
Location: Third Coast

I thought this was a really interesting read on the effectiveness of modern quarterbacks:

It would have been even more interesting if it was more comprehensive and didn't focus mainly on Joe Flacco (who, let's face it, has done pretty well coming out of Delaware), but it's still great food for thought. I wonder where Tony Romo, Carson Palmer, Donovan McNabb, and Matthew Stafford factor in?

Thu Oct 04, 2012 1:48 pm

mattrego

Joined: 26 Jun 2003
Posts: 1422
Location: RI-CA-FL

If seattle had a real qb this could be a game. Lots of dumb plays by the patriots. Why doesn't matt flynn start for them?

Sun Oct 14, 2012 4:34 pm

Captiv8

Joined: 25 Aug 2006
Posts: 8546
Location: Third Coast

I think they have more faith in Russell Wilson to get things done. Depending on how the season goes Flynn might find himself in under center anyway.

I'm just glad Detroit won today. They were looking like the old Lions and managed to play really well in the final five minutes, which is where it all counts. When Stafford was on he was on, but when he was off it was excruciating to watch. I didn't understand half the throws he made tonight. Johnson was a beast, per usual, and I finally saw some good things out of Burleson. Oh, and Scheffler had a really great catch on a crucial drive, which was encouraging. On the other side, Vick has really lost a step. He is so inconsistent.